Glamour. Swagger. Preening. Machismo.
Assume pecs. Assume posturing. Assume pouting. And that’s simply the boys.
Staring down the lane earlier than the beginning of the race with an depth akin to a matador about to problem the bull within the ring. A duel.
Is it man or girl in opposition to the water or is the water a pal, serving to the freestyle sprinter make their means by means of at most velocity.
There may be an exhilaration borne of a sprinter at peak kind, seemingly gliding alongside the highest of the water.
Fran Halsall’s mum Diane as soon as revealed she doesn’t breathe throughout her daughter’s races. So it’s a superb job Fran didn’t select the 800 free. Or the 25km open water.
Fran – with world, European and Commonwealth medals within the sprints – factors to the stardust aspect of the freestyle.
“I feel it’s the most pure stroke as a result of it’s the quickest, it will get you from A to B faster than anything,” she laughs.
“It’s fairly glamorous. I suppose with the 100m – quickest man on the planet, quickest girl on the planet – and the quickest by means of water.”
The 24-year-old additionally has an opinion on the male of the freestyle species.
“I feel the boys within the dash freestyle are very assured – they’ve a really huge presence about them and never simply because they’re 6ft 6in as a result of not all of them are!”
Each nook of Fran’s life has been affected by the dash freestyle. When she was 14, the Loughborough swimmer purchased two goldfish and named them Inge and Thorpey. After Dutch four-time Olympic medallist Inge de Bruijn and Ian Thorpe, winner of world and Olympic medals from 100m freestyle upwards.
There was, nevertheless, no comfortable ending. Inge and Thorpey succumbed to a watery grave. “My mum by chance killed them – their scales fell off.”
Whereas that could be a fishy story, Fran stays a scholar of the dash.
“I’m going to place it on the market – I feel freestyle is the toughest stroke to be good at as a result of everyone learns to do it first and everyone does it.
“So it’s extremely aggressive, most likely extra aggressive than another stroke.
“I’ve to be very regimented in it. I overthink it. If I get something in my head about my freestyle I’m like I’ve received to get this proper.
“Perfectionists – that’s the phrase I’m on the lookout for.
“However I’m not organised, I’m very scatty in relation to every little thing else aside from when I’m targeted on what I’m doing within the pool.
“I feel we’re fiery and feisty – particularly dash freestylers.”
Her phrases are echoed by Bronte Campbell, four-time 2014 Commonwealth medallist.
“Freestyle is particular as a result of we get to swim the quickest.
”We’re flamboyant and luxuriate in shiny colors and to face out, significantly within the 100m free, as that is the race individuals actually get pleasure from to look at
”We’re all the time having enjoyable and by no means severe. Whereas others sit ready in silence for his or her races, we’re making jokes …In different phrases, we’re the good to hold about with.”
“You possibly can spot the male sprinters within the coaching pool, as they’re those with the massive lats!”
